| Club: | Athletic Bilbao |
| Season: | 2012–13 |
| Manager: | Marcelo Bielsa |
| Mgrtitle: | Head coach |
| Chairman: | Josu Urrutia |
| Chrtitle: | President |
| Stadium: | San Mamés |
| League: | La Liga |
| League Result: | 12th |
| Cup1: | Copa del Rey |
| Cup1 Result: | Round of 32 |
| Cup2: | UEFA Europa League |
| Cup2 Result: | Group stage (3rd) |
| League Topscorer: | Aritz Aduriz (14) |
| Season Topscorer: | Aritz Aduriz (18) |
| Prevseason: | 2011–12 |
| Nextseason: | 2013–14 |
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The 2012–13 Athletic Bilbao season was the 82nd consecutive season in the top flight and 112th season overall. Athletic were looking to continue their ascendency from last season where they made the final in two different competitions.
Athletic Bilbao competed for their ninth La Liga title and also participated in the UEFA Europa League, entering in the third qualifying round due to their defeat to Barcelona in the 2012 Copa del Rey Final, who had already qualified for European competition. They also entered the Copa del Rey in the Round of 32.
The numbers and stats are established according to the official website: www.athletic-club.net
| No. | Pos. | Nat. | Name | League | Cup | Europe | Total | Discipline | ||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | |||||||
| 1 | GK |  | Gorka Iraizoz | 35 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 7 | 0 | 42 | 0 | 4 | ||
| 2 | FW | | Gaizka Toquero | 1 (15) | 0 | 1 | 0 | 5 | 2 | 7 (15) | 2 | 1 | ||
| 3 | DF | | Jon Aurtenetxe | 24 (3) | 1 | 2 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 28 (3) | 1 | 3 | ||
| 4 | DF |  | Aymeric Laporte | 14 (1) | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 16 (1) | 0 | 6 | 1 | 1 |
| 5 | DF |  | Fernando Amorebieta | 10 (1) | 0 | 2 | 0 | 4 | 0 | 16 (1) | 0 | 7 | 1 | |
| 6 | DF | | Mikel San José | 23 (11) | 5 | 2 | 0 | 4 | 1 | 29 (11) | 6 | 9 | ||
| 8 | MF | | Ander Iturraspe | 27 (3) | 0 | 1 (1) | 0 | 9 | 0 | 37 (4) | 0 | 15 | 1 | |
| 9 | FW | | Fernando Llorente | 4 (22) | 4 | 2 | 0 | 2 (6) | 1 | 8 (28) | 5 | 2 | ||
| 10 | MF | | Óscar de Marcos | 36 | 6 | 1 (1) | 0 | 8 | 1 | 45 (1) | 7 | 15 | ||
| 11 | FW | | Ibai Gómez | 17 (18) | 4 | 2 | 0 | 4 (5) | 1 | 23 (23) | 5 | 2 | ||
| 13 | GK | | Raúl Fernández | 3 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 3 | 0 | 8 | 0 | |||
| 14 | MF | | Markel Susaeta | 36 | 7 | 1 (1) | 0 | 8 | 4 | 44 (1) | 12 | 10 | 1 | |
| 15 | DF | | Andoni Iraola | 34 (1) | 0 | 1 | 0 | 7 | 1 | 42 (1) | 1 | 5 | ||
| 16 | FW | | Isma López | 6 (2) | 0 | — | — | 6 (2) | 2 | 12 (4) | 2 | |||
| 17 | MF | | Iñigo Pérez | 5 | 0 | — | — | 3 (1) | 1 | 8 (1) | 1 | 3 | ||
| 18 | MF | | Carlos Gurpegi (c) | 24 (3) | 1 | — | — | 7 | 0 | 31 (3) | 1 | 14 | ||
| 19 | FW | | Iker Muniain | 27 (6) | 1 | 1 (1) | 0 | 6 (2) | 1 | 34 (9) | 2 | 11 | 1 | |
| 20 | FW | | Aritz Aduriz | 33 (3) | 14 | 0 (2) | 1 | 5 (1) | 3 | 38 (6) | 18 | 12 | 1 | |
| 21 | MF | | Ander Herrera | 29 | 1 | 2 | 0 | 3 (1) | 1 | 34 (1) | 2 | 12 | 1 | 1 |
| 22 | DF | | Xabi Castillo | 3 (4) | 0 | 0 | 0 | 5 | 0 | 8 (4) | 0 | 1 | ||
| 23 | DF | | Borja Ekiza | 23 (1) | 0 | 1 | 0 | 2 (1) | 0 | 26 (2) | 0 | 3 | ||
| 26 | MF | | Igor Martínez | 0 (3) | 0 | — | — | 2 (1) | 1 | 2 (4) | 1 | 1 | ||
| 27 | MF | | Iñigo Ruiz de Galarreta | 0 (3) | 0 | — | — | 1 (4) | 0 | 1 (7) | 0 | |||
| 28 | DF | | Jonás Ramalho | 4 (2) | 0 | 1 | 0 | 3 (1) | 0 | 8 (3) | 0 | |||
| 33 | MF | | Iker Undabarrena | — | — | — | — | 0 (1) | 0 | 0 (1) | 0 | |||
| 39 | MF | | Erik Morán | 0 (1) | 0 | — | — | 1 (1) | 0 | 1 (2) | 0 | |||
| 40 | MF | | Álvaro Peña | — | — | — | — | 1 (1) | 0 | 1 (1) | 0 | 1 | ||
| 41 | MF | | Jonxa Vidal | — | — | — | — | 0 (1) | 0 | 0 (1) | 0 | |||
Kickoff times are in CET.
| Round | Date/Time | Opponents | Location | Score | Scorers | Referee |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Friendly | 13 July 2012 - 20:00 | 2–1 | Wilfried Bien (France) | |||
| Friendly | 17 July 2012 – 21:45 | 1–3 | Hicham Tiazi (Morocco) | |||
| Friendly | 21 July 2012 – 14:00 | 0–1 | Sebastian Tarnowski (Poland) | |||
| Friendly | 22 July 2012 – 14:00 | 1–0 | Marek Opalinski (Poland) | |||
| Friendly | 27 July 2012 – 19:00 | 1–3 | Romain Delpech (France) | |||
| Friendly | 11 August 2012 – 19:00 | 1–2 | Bikandi Garrido (Basque Country) | |||
| Friendly | 15 August 2012 - 19:00 | 2–1 | González Esteban (Basque Country) | |||
| Friendly | 21 August 2012 – 19:00 | 1–3 | Ricardo de Burgos Bengoetxea (Basque Country) | |||
| Friendly | 7 September 2012 - 20:00 | 2–2 (3–1 pen.) | González González (Castile and León) | |||
| Friendly | 7 May 2013 – 19:00 | 3–1 | González Esteban (Basque Country) | |||
| Friendly | 22 May 2013 – 19:00 | Somorrostro | 5–1 | Delgado Ferreiro (Basque Country) | ||
| Friendly | 5 June 2013 – 20:45 | 0–1 | Delgado Ferreiro (Basque Country) | |||
See main article: 2012–13 La Liga.
Kickoff times are in CET.
| Round | Date/Time | Opponents | Location | Score | Scorers | Referee |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 19 August 2012 – 19:00 | 3–5 | J. A. Teixeira Vitienes (Cantabria) | |||
| 2 | 27 August 2012 – 22:00 | 0–4 | F. Teixeira Vitienes (Cantabria) | |||
| 3 | 2 September 2012 – 16:00 | 2–0 | Del Cerro Grande (Community of Madrid) | |||
| 4 | 16 September 2012 – 12:00 | 3–3 | Pérez Montero (Andalusia) | |||
| 5 | 23 September 2012 – 19:50 | 0–0 | Mateu Lahoz (Valencian Community) | |||
| 29 September 2012 – 20:00 | 0–2 | Clos Gómez (Aragon) | ||||
| 7 | 7 October 2012 – 18:00 | 1–0 | González González (Castile and León) | |||
| 8 | 21 October 2012 – 20:00 | 2–3 | Undiano Mallenco (Navarre) | |||
| 9 | 28 October 2012 – 17:50 | 1–2 | Gil Manzano (Canary Islands) | |||
| 10 | 4 November 2012 – 19:45 | 2–1 | Muñiz Fernández (Asturias) | |||
| 11 | 11 November 2012 – 16:00 | 2–1 | Hernández Hernández (Canary Islands) | |||
| 12 | 17 November 2012 – 22:00 | 1–5 | J. A. Teixeira Vitienes (Cantabria) | |||
| 13 | 25 November 2012 – 17:00 | 1–1 | Álvarez Izquierdo (Catalonia) | |||
| 14 | 2 December 2012 – 20:00 | 1–5 | Mateu Lahoz (Valencian Community) | |||
| 15 | 9 December 2012 – 17:00 | 1–0 | F. Teixeira Vitienes (Cantabria) | |||
| 16 | 16 December 2012 – 18:00 | 1–0 | Del Cerro Grande (Community of Madrid) | |||
| 17 | 22 December 2012 – 22:00 | 0–2 | Mateu Lahoz (Valencian Community) | |||
| 18 | 5 January 2013 – 16:00 | 1–3 | Paradas Romero (Andalusia) | |||
| 19 | 11 January 2013 – 21:30 | 1–2 | Pérez Montero (Andalusia) | |||
| 20 | 21 January 2013 – 21:30 | 1–1 | Ayza Gámez (Valencian Community) | |||
| 21 | 27 January 2013 – 21:00 | 3–0 | Muñiz Fernández (Asturias) | |||
| 22 | 1 February 2013 – 21:30 | 2–2 | Estrada Fernández (Catalonia) | |||
| 23 | 10 February 2013 – 19:00 | 0–4 | Velasco Carballo (Community of Madrid) | |||
| 24 | 16 February 2013 – 18:00 | 0–1 | González González (Castile and León) | |||
| 22 February 2013 – 21:30 | 1–3 | Undiano Mallenco (Navarre) | ||||
| 26 | 2 March 2013 – 20:00 | 1–0 | F. Teixeira Vitienes (Cantabria) | |||
| 27 | 10 March 2013 – 12:00 | 1–0 | J. A. Teixeira Vitienes (Cantabria) | |||
| 28 | 16 March 2013 – 18:00 | 0–1 | Iglesias Villanueva (Galicia) | |||
| 29 | 1 April 2013 – 20:00 | 1–0 | Del Cerro Grande (Community of Madrid) | |||
| 30 | 8 April 2013 – 22:00 | 1–2 | Mateu Lahoz (Valencian Community) | |||
| 31 | 14 April 2013 – 21:00 | 0–3 | F. Teixeira Vitienes (Cantabria) | |||
| 32 | 21 April 2013 – 17:00 | 1–1 | Pérez Montero (Andalusia) | |||
| 33 | 27 April 2013 – 18:00 | 2–2 | Iglesias Villanueva (Galicia) | |||
| 34 | 3 May 2013 – 21:00 | 1–1 | Velasco Carballo (Community of Madrid) | |||
| 35 | 11 May 2013 – 16:00 | 2–1 | Hernández Hernández (Canary Islands) | |||
| 36 | 19 May 2013 – 19:00 | 2–1 | Del Cerro Grande (Community of Madrid) | |||
| 37 | 26 May 2013 – 20:00 | 0–1 | J. A. Teixeira Vitienes (Cantabria) | |||
| 38 | 1 June 2013 – 21:00 | 2–2 | Muñiz Fernández (Asturias) | |||
See main article: 2012–13 Copa del Rey.
Kickoff times are in CET.
| Round | Date/Time | Opponents | Location | Score | Scorers | Referee |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 November 2012 – 12:00 | 0–0 | Paradas Romero (Andalusia) | ||||
| 12 December 2012 – 20:00 | 1–1 (1–1a agg.) | Velasco Carballo (Community of Madrid) | ||||
See main article: 2012–13 UEFA Europa League. Kickoff times are in CET.
See main article: 2012–13 UEFA Europa League qualifying phase and play-off round.
| Round | Date/Time | Opponents | Location | Score | Scorers | Referee |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2 August 2012 – 21:00 | 3–1 | Serhiy Boiko (Ukraine) | ||||
| 9 August 2012 – 18:45 | 1–2 (4–3 agg.) | Danny Makkelie (Netherlands) | ||||
| 23 August 2012 – 21:00 | 6–0 | Bülent Yıldırım (Turkey) | ||||
| 30 August 2012 – 19:00 | 3–3 (9–3 agg.) | Alan Kelly (Republic of Ireland) | ||||
Kickoff times are in CET.
| Round | Date/Time | Opponents | Location | Score | Scorers | Referee |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 20 September 2012 – 21:05 | 1–1 | Simon Lee Evans (Wales) | ||||
| 4 October 2012 – 19:00 | 1–3 | Manuel De Sousa (Portugal) | ||||
| 25 October 2012 – 19:00 | 1–2 | Andre Marriner (England) | ||||
| 8 November 2012 – 21:05 | 2–3 | Pol van Boekel (Netherlands) | ||||
| 29 November 2012 – 19:00 | 2–0 | Rene Eisner (Austria) | ||||
| 6 December 2012 – 21:05 | 0–0 | Sébastien Delferiere (Belgium) | ||||
See main article: List of Spanish football transfers summer 2012 and List of Spanish football transfers winter 2012–13.
| Date | Pos. | Name | From | Transfer Fee | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 July 2012 | FW | Aritz Aduriz | Valencia CF | €2.5M | |
| 1 July 2012 | MF | Ismael López | CD Lugo | Free | |
| 1 July 2012 | GK | Iago Herrerín | Atlético Madrid B | Free |
| Date | Pos. | Name | To | Transfer Fee | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2 July 2012 | FW | Iñigo Díaz de Cerio | CD Mirandés | Free | |
| 6 July 2012 | DF | Koikili | CD Mirandés | Free | |
| 10 July 2012 | MF | Igor Gabilondo |  AEK Larnaca | Free | |
| 25 July 2012 | MF | Pablo Orbaiz |  Rubin Kazan | Free | |
| 29 August 2012 | MF | Javi Martínez | Bayern Munich | €40M | |
| 31 August 2012 | MF | Galder Cerrajería | Real Oviedo | Free | |
| 31 August 2012 | MF | David López | Brighton & Hove Albion | Free | |
| 31 August 2012 | DF | Ustaritz | Released | ||
| 29 January 2013 | GK | Aitor Fernández | Villarreal B | Free |
| Date from | Date to | Pos. | Name | To |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 July 2012 | 30 June 2013 | GK | Iago Herrerín | CD Numancia |
| 17 July 2012 | 30 June 2013 | DF | Iban Zubiaurre | UD Salamanca |
| 28 August 2012 | 30 June 2013 | FW | Mikel Orbegozo | Sestao River |